That is the highest number of stops made by a goalkeeper in any World Cup match since records began in 1966.

The European side dominated most of the game, hitting a total of 38 shots, but it took until extra time before they were finally able to break down a stubborn American back line with goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

Unsurprisingly, Howard was the game's most tweeted about player, being mentioned in 1.8 million (20 per cent) of the 9.1 million total tweets.

Included in these tweets were messages of support from celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and US President Barack Obama, as well as post-match praise from Belgium captain Vincent Kompany.

Howard's face has also appeared in the usual influx of amusing memes, including in place of George Washington on US currency and carved into Mount Rushmore.

'Good Morning America' went one step further by proclaiming its support for a presidential campaign in 2016 which, despite receiving widespread support on Twitter, probably won't give Obama too many sleepless nights.

The hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave also threw up some amusing pictures, like the image above.